Here in New England

BOSTON — A Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles employee is accused of charging illegal immigrants for driver’s licenses she never delivered and falsely claiming she could help them delay deportation.

Adriana Ferreira of Boston was arrested Friday and pleaded not guilty in Suffolk Superior Court to charges including corruption, bribery and larceny. A judge set $50,000 cash bail.

Authorities claim Ferreira, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Brazil, charged victims $2,000, but didn’t deliver any documents. They said she also falsely told the victims she knew someone in the federal government who could delay a deportation for a fee. Authorities say Ferreira didn’t know any immigration officials.

The RMV said it has “zero tolerance” for behavior that compromises its integrity and continues to cooperate with law enforcement.

Ferreira’s lawyer is questioning the strength of the evidence against her.

Woman finds black widow in grapes

YARMOUTH — A Cape Cod woman got a little something extra with the bunch of grapes she bought from a local supermarket — a black widow spider. Laurie Kaiser of Yarmouth said she been grabbing a handful of grapes off the bunch stored in the refrigerator for about a week when on Wednesday she noticed a spider.

She tells the Cape Cod Times at first she was going to let the spider go in her yard, when she saw the telltale red hourglass shape on the spider’s body indicating that it was a black widow. Black widows are venomous, but rarely fatal to humans.

The Shaw’s supermarket gave her a refund and the manager said he’d inform the distributor about the spider.

PROVIDENCE — A Rhode Island lawmaker says manhole cover theft should be made a felony following the disappearance of hundreds of covers in Providence.

State Sen. Paul Jabour said Friday he intends to submit legislation to increase penalties for the theft of manhole covers because of the danger created when manhole covers are taken.

Providence has seen nearly 250 manhole cover thefts so far this year. Authorities believe thieves take the heavy metal covers to sell as scrap metal. While the covers are worth only $20 as scrap, they cost hundreds of dollars to replace.

Jabour, a Democrat from Providence, says the number of thefts shows the state needs to treat the crime more seriously. He says people can be hurt or killed by falling into open manholes.

BURLINGTON, Vt. — A Cope Cod police officer is going to spend 10 days on a Vermont Department of Corrections work crew to settle charges he was caught driving drunk twice in the Burlington area.

Forty-eight-year-old Scott Kynoch of Mashpee, Mass., pleaded guilty Friday to a single count of driving while intoxicated and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Kynoch is a former Burlington High School football standout. He was stopped by police in Chittenden County in May and July. In both cases he was over the legal limit for driving.

Kynoch’s boss, Barnstable Police Chief Paul MacDonald, tells the Burlington Free Press that Kynoch has been on “desk duty” since the first DUI report and he will face an internal administration hearing on his future with the department.